Ghost Stalker Chronicles Book 1: Paths of a Ninja
by NPCrusader
Summary: This is the continuation of the "Prologue" story. It takes over immediately where it left off. Don't know what I'm talking about? Read "Naruto the Ghost Stalker" before reading this. Asuma and his team, tasked with guarding Tazuna, encounter a most deadly foe. What will become of them? How are the other groups doing? What are Naruto's and Shino's missions and will they succeed?
1. Silent Hunters

Ghost Stalker Chronicles

Paths of a Ninja

Chapter 1: Silent Hunters

_The story of Naruto the Ghost Stalker is, with this new installment and beyond, continued._

_To summarize the story so far: (__Youtube: __Naruto's Main Theme Reloaded__)_

_Naruto was rescued from a band of particularly nasty and bitter villagers, who couldn't forget their pain and anger against the nine tailed fox that Naruto has sealed within him, by a foreign dignitary. This dignitary turned out to be a Kage of a nation that has no land to call its own. Impressed by Naruto's resolve and forgiving heart, as well as angered by what he has to endure from his own home village, the Kage, named Yokai, takes Naruto for a training journey with the permission of the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen._

_The two leaders had become friends to the point where the Sandaime (3__rd__) Hokage felt he could entrust Naruto's training and growth to him. After returning from said journey, Naruto was immediately introduced to the Shinobi Academy, which was just starting a fresh batch of students at the time he returned._

_Things were going good for Naruto, but along the way he had to deal with two dangerous situations. The first being Itachi's betrayal of the village, through his massacring of his very own clan. Only his friend Sasuke and his mother survived, partly due to Naruto's intervention since he was visiting at the time it occurred._

_However, their fight was very uneven, in Itachi's favor, and Itachi gained the upper hand through the use of his genjutsu abilities his special eye, the Sharingan, possesses. But through an intervention of Kami, Yokai's people's god, Itachi's Genjutsu attack was thwarted and had to escape before the guards arrived. Kami, whom Naruto has a mostly good and light-hearted relationship with but is also a tad shaky due to disagreement and some trust issues, enlightened Naruto as to the mysterious goings-on with Itachi. Naruto is stumped further with the news that Sasuke's mother survived a seemingly fatal stab through the chest, but is in a genjutsu-induced coma._

_The second situation was the kidnapping of classmate and friend Hinata Hyuuga. Through some vague directions given by Kami, Naruto stumbled across a dignitary from Kumogakure no Sato (Hidden Cloud Village) sneaking around the village, quietly breaking into and kidnapping the Hyuuga heiress right from her own bedroom. Deciding to intervene, Naruto chases the, now hostile, dignitary through the village before using a couple of recently learned jutsus to both warn Hinata's father and stealthily catch up to the fleeing shinobi and tackle him, thus freeing Hinata from his clutches. He then used his sensei's (Yokai) secret jutsu to remain unseen as he battled the more skilled opponent._

_But he prevailed through scare-tactics and striking while concealed by his camouflage jutsu. Hinata's father then came and was about to kill the abductor while he was still out cold when Naruto stopped him, telling him that it was something the Hokage should ultimately decide upon. It turned out to be a particularly good advice since, after Hiashi learned who the man was, killing him would have brought untold troubles to not only his clan, but possibly also the village._

_In neither of these tremendously trying events, though he was an unofficial hero due to both instances already, could he reap the benefits of his victories and gain respect in the eyes of the public, both had to remain secret in order to uphold order and public imagery. But he gained immense recognition from the Hyuuga clan head, and even Naruto knew the value of that._

_As Sasuke recovered from his ordeal, things were becoming somewhat strained between them. Though not to the point they were approaching becoming unfriendly. Sasuke's trauma was still haunting him and it affected him and his view of many things, his attitude towards friends in general being one of the signs. But the fact his mother was still alive and, theoretically, saveable was a significant boon for his mental balance._

_As the Academy progressed, Naruto and Sasuke implemented a plan to get rid of or help their female classmates (depending on who you asked). Said girls had taken a great... liking to the two boys and they wanted them to focus on becoming effective kunoichi (female ninja) first and foremost, rather than a pretty face and a love interest first._

_And so, when the final exams came around, all students passed. Or rather, all the "main" students, those being the students hailing from major clans as well as Sakura, a friend of Ino Yamanaka (Yamanaka being a major clan by the way)._

_All except Naruto._

_Due to a rule regarding a certain jutsu which Naruto was unable to perform, Naruto was believed to be slacking too much and didn't get a passing grade. When his friends awaited his arrival, with a headband to signify his success, they were shocked to eventually learn that he had failed and was nowhere to be found. At first it appeared that Naruto had simply deserted them in shame, but as they made a concerted effort to find him and comfort him, they found something entirely different._

_Naruto had been asked by Mizuki, their secondary teacher, to steal an important scroll in order to get a passing grade, since it was a ninja's task to sometimes do such things. But Naruto wasn't fooled by the man. Instead, he had set up an elaborate trap for him, but due to the unforeseen interference from the main teacher, Iruka, things turned much more complicated... and deadly._

_When Mizuki arrived, Naruto had to save his teacher from a vicious fuma shuriken attack, a shuriken the size of a medium sized knight's shield. Taking the blow for his teacher, Naruto was unable to move due to his injuries. His former secondary teacher then cruelly took the opportunity to finally tell Naruto the reason he was so persecuted and hated by his own village._

_He revealed that he was the Jinchuriki (Power of Human Sacrifice, essentially a living prison) of the nine tailed demon fox that had attacked the village at the day of his birth. The Hokage at the time, Yondaime (4__th__) Hokage, battled it and ultimately defeated it, not through martial might, but by sealing the beast within little Naruto._

_But the way Mizuki told it, Naruto would be the new nine tailed fox, rather than its cage. However, Kami came to Naruto's aid and told him the truth, consoled him and finally empowered him to fight his former teacher evenly once he had removed the shuriken and healed from the wound through Kurama's, the nine tailed fox's, stored energy._

_Once defeated, the Hokage showed up and had Mizuki taken into custody while also promoting Naruto to Tokubetso Genin (Special Genin) due to his skills. However, the night would not end on a completely positive note for Naruto. For Naruto's entire class had followed him and witnessed pretty much everything. Making the wrong assumption that his friends now hated him for being what he was, he ran away before they could correct him._

_But the next morning it was all sorted out, as well as him and his entire circle of Academy friends were going to end up as one big group under three different senseis; Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi (Hiruzen's son). In addition, a new shinobi force branch has been founded by Naruto's sensei Yokai, wherein ninjas who want to specialize in stealth, sabotage and assassination had the option to join, even if it as only part time. Kiba, Sasuke and Shino decided to join, but only Shino did so full time._

_Behind closed doors, there are some disagreements regarding this new approach to how Genin should be molded into their future Chunin, Jonin and Hokage. However, the group continues to perform well in their training and simulations. And one day, their first assignments come along. The group is divided into three groups, with one sensei each._

_Kakashi, along with Sasuke and Kiba, are on their way to eliminate a bandit camp._

_Kurenai, Sakura and Ino are escorting a trade caravan carrying valuable cargo._

_Asuma, Hinata, Shikamaru and Chouji are on their way with a bridge builder to protect him from, what he originally claimed was bandit attacks. But things turned out to be more hazardous than advertized. Two enemy shinobi from Kiri, though they didn't attack, were discovered. But they fled once they realized that they werr discovered way beforehand through Hinata's ocular bloodline, the Byakugan. Since it was common knowledge that it allows any with the bloodline to see through just about anything as well as enable them to see the overall status of anyone else's body, they knew they had noway to hide. So they refrained from attacking and once the team had passed them harmlessly, they took off._

_Asuma had noticed the entire thing and was instantly mad at the client. However, after a thorough explanation from the man, they were inclined to feel at least some sympathy for him. Asuma left the decision of whether or not to continue up to the Genin. Tazuna feared they would leave him high and dry._

_However, Hinata's heart went out to Tazuna and his people, not to mention her admiration and love for Naruto, who she knew would never back down from helping those in need, compelled her to continue with the mission. The others were at first taken aback by her declaration but eventually they agreed with her. And here is where the story resumes._

_(Youtube: __Naruto's Main Theme Reloaded__ END)_

Tazuna and his escorts had resumed their journey about a day and a half ago. It was mostly spent in companionable silence, with a few pleasant conversations occurring occasionally when they felt secure enough with their surroundings. They had reached the shore of the Land of Fire that was directly across from the region of Nami (Wave). It was very foggy and one could not see even fifteen meters ahead clearly. Despite this, there was a faint sound of splashing coming from ahead of them, indicating a boat with someone using oars or some other propelling instrument was approaching.

"Ah, just on time." Tazuna spoke quietly, but obviously pleased. "This is the meeting place, and the time of the day, where someone is to meet us to provide a way in without being noticed by any of Gato's goons."

"How did you know it would be foggy enough this morning that we could utilize the cover it would bring?" Asuma asked.

"I didn't, but fog is pretty common around here, a common joke around here is that we're a mini-Hidden Mist village. That ought to tell you how common fog is in Nami."

"Even so, it's somewhat of a risk." Shikamaru noted.

"Not as much as you might think. Pirates, who are the main patrolling force Gato has on the waterways, have become lax in their duties since being employed to stick around and be the menace they are. They are seldom patrolling this early in the morning. The risk is there, but should worse come to worst, that was what I hired you to deal with anyway, wasn't it?" Tazuna said.

"I see, but what will Gato do if his sea-faring cronies get beaten by us?" Shikamaru queried.

"He is already aware of our presence, he wont do more than we already suspect he will. The Pirates can only report that we're here, basically." Asuma replied for Tazuna, who nodded in grim agreement.

It was a moment after their conversation ended that the small fishing boat arrived. The man on board was pleased to see them, but couldn't bring himself to show more beyond a slight rising of one end of his lips.

"I see you got the help we are sorely in need of, Tazuna. But couldn't you have managed something better than a trio of kids and a lone adult?" He inquired with a scrutinizing look towards the ninja.

"I know what you mean, Ryou. But I have a good feeling regarding these people. They are ninja after all, and as I have been told, they are all about surprises." Tazuna defended, though he didn't say so overly passionate. He had yet to see just how well they could fight.

Asuma smiled a little at the defense. 'Looks like our loyalty to our client has garnered us some support in response.' He then looked neutral as he pondered on. 'Still, if there's to be any considerable hope for these people, we need to be able to meet our opponents evenly. And that's just something I can't say for certain we'll be able to. I hope the Hokage sends those reinforcements quickly.'

"If you say so, Tazuna..." Ryou replied, not convinced. "All aboard. During the whole trip to the other shore, please keep it quiet or we'll needlessly risk alerting the patrols."

"Understood, we'll maintain silence or speak in whispers." Asuma both acknowledged and order his charges at the same time.

The voyage across was undertaken in silence, as requested. Though there were audible gasps of amazement once they were within visual range of the bridge, or at least its shadowy silhouette in the fog which still left little to the imagination of the sheer size of the unfinished bridge.

'Oh my!' Thought Hinata.

'The amount of work to make that. The drag...' Shikamaru thought, horrified by the amount of work behind this impressive building.

'I think it would even hold dad's expanded body.' Chouji thought, thoroughly impressed.

'A most suitable gift for the Daimyo.' Thought Asuma, who recalled his time serving as one of The Twelve Shinobi Guardians, assigned to protect the Daimyo of Fire. During that time, he grew to respect and even like the Daimyo. While he was somewhat of an air-head, he was a fair man and had his people's best interest at heart.

They landed without incident on the other side. After bidding farewell to the now somewhat relieved fisherman, they resumed their journey on foot. Hinata was ordered to regularly and frequently scan their surroundings for any hostiles or traps, Shikamaru was ordered to come up with a handful of initial defense/attack strategies based on current knowledge in case of an attack, Chouji was ordered to keep an eye out at all times and be ready for anything and to not snack at all for this last stretch of their journey. He complied but wasn't happy to not eat, he really hoped their destination would be close.

After only a minute of walking along, Hinata called for a halt.

"T-there's a mist u-up ahead." She said worriedly.

"So? Like Tazuna-ossan said, Nami is known to have it rather often." Shikamaru commented, not seeing the issue but remained on the alert nevertheless.

"T-this one was s-shinobi made, c-chakra is spread all throughout it, making it m-much harder for me to get any sort of v-visual on a-anyone or anything in it."

"Can you get any visual at all, even if it is unclear?" Asuma inquired.

"I-I believe I c-can, but it will be a c-cloudy blur at best as opposed to a clear, d-defined form."

"Then keep at it, Hinata. You two," He indicated the two boys. "Keep on alert and be ready to react at a split second's notice. Shikamaru, this is the work of a Mist ninja, or rather a nuke-nin from there. Probably Jonin level." Asuma concluded to his strategic planning partner.

Shikamaru nodded. "In all likelihood he will personally oversee this ambush and you'll have to deal with him. No doubt he will sic his underlings on the rest of us. I can probably shadow-bind one of them, perhaps both but I wouldn't count on it happening simultaneously. Once that is done, Chouji can knock him out while Hinata handles the remaining guy, she's got the agility to at least buy time till we can help her. But, your clan is feared for a good reason, Hinata. I believe you can get hits in without help. Once you manage that, you can take him down easily."

"That's all assuming the two we saw before are the only subordinates this guys' got. Be ready for additional enemies just in case." Asuma pointed out.

"Granted, but there can be only one more, and in that case Chouji will have to deal with that guy while I hold the one I capture."

"Why only one more?" Tazuna asked, a bad feeling sinking in his gut.

"Because if there's more, we're in trouble. But if we underestimate the, possible, additional guy, then we are also in a troublesome situation."

"You sound certain of how good the two known guys are?" Tazuna asked, trying to not think of how bad this situation was looking.

"They refrained from combat before for a reason." Asuma asserted "My guess is they are at Chunin level, but I have no idea exactly where that would be compared to us. Most likely worse than ours though, since the Hidden Mist hasn't been in touch with the rest of the world due to its civil war, and in times of war, promotions are made when in reality they wouldn't be in peace times. This results in sub-par qualities of their ninja ranks. Missing nin is also a problem during war times, as they take the chance to desert and make a living as mercenaries instead of listening to higher authorities, or simply to get away from 'The Bloody Mist' as Mist has been nicknamed for some time now."

"So what you're saying is that these rogue Chunin, if they are that, could be no better than your Genin?" Tazuna asked, somewhat hopeful.

"Could be, but that's no reason to relax even an iota." Asuma confirmed. "Well, we've got a course of action and are just wasting time standing here. Let's go!" He then commanded.

Asuma took the lead and walked straight into the obscuring fog. He was followed by a frantically thinking and alert Shikamaru, a tense and worried Chouji and a scared but prepared Hinata. She kept her Byakugan active and searching for any indication of activity within the fog. Tazuna was in the middle of their formation, as was the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in escort missions. He was a walking wreck, yearning to take a calming sip, or a hundred, from his sake bottle. However, Asuma had strictly forbidden it due to safety reasons. The smell and the small noise it would make could hinder their own ability to detect their enemies.

Hinata suddenly gasped quietly, but Asuma heard. "What is it, Hinata?"

"I... I thought I saw a s-shape, but it's g-gone now." She replied, not completely reassured that it was nothing. Asuma was far from that himself.

"How far was that shape?"

"A-about fifty meters just up ahead, b-by the road."

"Keep looking, it may have been one of our opponents using a shunshin to switch positions. The rest of you, be ready to react within a blink."

They walked a bit further, Hinata then saw that in place of the possible enemy was an unclear, but unmistakable outline of a rabbit.

"I-it was here, but now there's a r-rabbit here."

'A rabbit wouldn't tread upon that spot for some time due to the lingering smell of man.' Asuma noted to himself. 'It was most likely not a shunshin (Body Flicker), but a kawarimi (Bodily Replacement) then.'

"Hinata, I believe an attack is imminent, watch for..." But he was interrupted by the girl he was addressing.

"INCOMING, DUCK!" She shouted, while hitting the dirt, the team and Tazuna following suit immediately after the warning was given.

And none too soon, for passing overhead a mere half-second after going prone, a massive object passed overhead. Said object had an unnervingly sharp tone to its aerial trip, giving away its nature as a sword without even having a proper look at the thing.

'The size, the method of attack. I have a strong suspicion as to who we're up against here.' Asuma thought grimly.

A second after dodging the sword, they heard it striking a tree and remained there. As they were getting back on their feet, a man with a mask covering his mouth and nose had jumped and landed upon the handle of the sword, squatting upon it as he faced the group. The man was glaring at them fiercely, his mask hiding the vicious grin he was sporting.

"Well, well, well. Lookie what we've got here." He said sinisterly. "Asuma Sarutobi and his trio of dead Genin." He then glanced at Tazuna. "And the bridge builder."

"I see my suspicions were spot on, Zabuza Momochi; 'Demon of the Bloody Mist'". Asuma stated as he produced his trench-knives from his leg-bag. The Genin were already surrounding the bridge builder, tense as harp strings, awaiting any attack coming their way.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhm." Zabuza chuckled darkly. "What made you suspect me?"

"Few missing nin would be of high enough rank to produce a mist as big as this one, not to mention be of high enough rank to order other missing Chunin around. A critical detail was your sword, only two missing nin have a sword that size. You and Kisame Hoshigaki. Since you threw it, that indicated that it was meant to cut, as opposed to shaving like Kisame's sword, Samehada. You don't throw a shaving sword. Thus it could have only been you."

Zabuza clapped mockingly. "Bravo, Leaf. Though I am both impressed and perturbed you could know so much about the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist. How did you come across that information? Mist has been closed to outsiders for quite some time."

"I didn't acquire the info personally, but I do know that it wasn't easy for those that did." Asuma said, trying to buy some time to assess as much as he could before engaging in inevitable combat.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhm." Zabuza chuckled his intimidating chuckle again. "I have no doubt that is true." He then jump the short distance to the ground and easily dislodged his sword from the tree. "And equally true is that in a short while, you will all be dead before me."

He then blasted the area with his murderous intent. It was a massive intent, underlining his great experience and strength as a ninja, as well as his lethality and his confidence in his ability to carry out said intent.

The Genin were shaking and sweating like crazy, they could see their own deaths before their eyes at the hand of this nin. Hinata had it worst, she was on her knees and embracing herself as she shivered and tears of fear fell from her eyes. Chouji was about to hurl his recently consumed food and Shikamaru was standing, but barely so.

He tried to occupy his thoughts with strategies to counter what he saw in his intent-induced hallucinations. Asuma had drilled it into him to divert his mind onto practical and useful thoughts even under harsh pressure of opponents' killer intents. It helped to keep him collected and combat ready. Sadly, besides Sasuke, Shino and Naruto, there were no others who managed to handle larger pressures, yet.

Asuma returned fire with his own intent. While it in itself didn't calm his charges down, it did take away the edge of Zabuza's and allowed the Genin to recollect themselves, but they were in a poorer state than before the encounter still.

"You talk big, Zabuza." Asuma said. "But words have not won a battle of blades and strength."

"Unless they're words used for JUTSU!" Zabuza shouted as he swung the blade as if it was nothing more than a baseball-bat. Asuma deflected the strikes.

'As I thought, he is tremendously strong. He would have to be in order to properly wield that sword. Parrying or contesting his strength is out of the question. I have to be faster. Dodging and deflecting his attacks.' Asuma analyzed his situation.

"Hahahaha! What's the matter, Asuma!? Can't keep up with me!?" Zabuza mocked as he relished the fight.

"Don't worry about me!" He grunted as he deflected another strike. "I've got more than what it takes to keep you on your toes!"

"Is that a fact, smokestack!?" Zabuza said as he made a downward swipe that struck the ground as it missed the dodging Leaf nin.

'Can't get away from that term even out here it seems.' Asuma briefly lamented. "Sure is! How about THIS for example?!"

At the moment he shouted it, he had deflected another swipe, but the noise of clashing metal was distinctly different. Zabuza jump back a bit and examined his sword. It now had some nasty cuts into the blade where Asuma had deflected it.

'Interesting.' Zabuza thought as he regarded the trench-knives in Asuma's hands. 'I only know of one thing that could cut my sword like that. Wind chakra applied to a weapon. Like that Sand shinobi from last year, he made a dent as well before he died.'

"So, you're a wind element user, Asuma. You've just made this fight more interesting." Zabuza lightly praised.

"So happy to accommodate you." He sarcastically replied.

"It would be a shame if I didn't bring something more to the table myself, wouldn't it?" The swordsman commented forebodingly.

'Shit! Something's going to happen!' Asuma realized. "All of you, be on your guard!" he commanded. He didn't have to, since they were on the alert, but it helped him ease his own mind minutely.

As soon as his cautionary order had been given, the two Chunin from before emerged from the mist. But Hinata had seen their blurred silhouettes before they arrived and alerted her teammates of their impending attack.

For Shikamaru, the mist was something of a blessing and a curse at the same time. He couldn't get far with his shadow in order to capture one of the two enemies' shadow. Which meant that he would have to get close before giving it a shot, something which wasn't recommended for obvious reasons.

However, if he timed it right and was quick about it, he could snare one shadow before the owner would have time to react.

With that plan in mind, he prepared himself for close-combat.

Chouji wasn't much of a kunai fighter, he preferred to fight with his bare hands. However, he was made aware by the enemy he was facing that they were blade users. Claw-like blades to be exact. And any hand-to-hand combat would bring large risks of him being cut severly, not to mentioned poisoned as Hinata discovered that they were coated with some dangerous liquid.

As he was doing his best to dodge and fight back, he resolved himself to find some form of weapon to augment his style if he survived and got back home.

Hinata was doing the best out of them. Her rigorous training in the Hyuuga fighting art of Juuken (Gentle Fist) made her quick and agile. So the hostile Chunin found he couldn't land a hit on the, supposedly, defenseless little girl he decided to attack. On top of that, he discovered that the little defenseless girl... had teeth.

Hinata, just as Shikamaru predicted, was able to strike her foe. But that was only once, on his shoulder. Not enough to incapacitate it, but it sure made it harder to use it for combat. It was enough to even the scales between her and her enemy.

'Good, they're doing fine for now. They might even win their battle.' Asuma observed with relief while still clashing with Zabuza. Said man suddenly addressed him with malice.

"So tell me, Asuma! Have you ever had the pleasure of having a first class seat to an execution?"

A sideways swipe was dodged, but before Asuma could try to counter he was kicked by Zabuza, who apparently had used the swipe as a diversion for a real attack. It struck him in the jaw and he stumbled and was disoriented for a brief moment. A moment upon which Zabuza capitalized.

Performing a low-sweeping leg kick, Zabuza made Asuma fall helplessly on his back. Before Asuma could roll away or do anything at all, Zabuza's blade was at his throat.

"Whether you have or not, I will give you a bloody show right now." Zabuza said darkly before using his foot to flip Asuma over onto his belly. He then placed a foot on his back as well as kept the blade at his neck. Asuma was about to perform a kawarimi, but Zabuza had created a water clone. It had taken his hands and restrained them with rope.

'Shit! I'm totally at his mercy.'

For the first time, he was truly convinced he and his team were all about to die. He watched with despair as the clone casually approached the battle taking place in front of him. He tried to give a warning, but Zabuza put a stop to that with his other foot on his head, making him fill his mouth with dirt.

Shikamaru had managed to finally get behind Chouji's opponent and ensnare his shadow, allowing Chouji to defeat him just as Shikamaru released the shadow to avoid receiving the same damage.

Hinata had finally managed to strike additional tenketsu on her own foe, from that point it was a matter of little time before she ended the fight with some final strikes, neutralizing the second aggressor.

Tazuna, during all of this, was frozen in place and scared out of his mind. But the victory his bodyguards had just won calmed him and brought hope back. However it was about to go from bad to worse.

The team had just realized their victory when they saw Zabuza's clone, not that they knew that at the moment, Zabuza and Asuma were concealed in the mist and they didn't hear a peep from them.

"Zabuza? Did he kill Asuma-sensei?" Chouji asked, terrified. Hinata activated her eyes and saw clearly enough to tell the other two;

"N-no, he's s-subdued by another Z-Zabuza."

"Mendokuse!" (Troublesome) "This means this is either a clone or the real thing we're facing here."

"What do we do?" Chouji asked, trembling but ready to act at the blink of an eye.

"We do the best we can and hope for the best, there's nothing else to it." Shikamaru said. There truly wasn't much they could do. He doubted he could ensnare him with a shadow. He had yet to successfully ensnare the Jonin senseis in a true combat practice where they did not cut any slack. He was getting closer to managing it, but he was far enough to know that this guy would evade it easily.

"Hmhmhmhmhm." The clone chuckled. "I have to commend you for defeating my Chunin underlings, brats. Normally I wouldn't acknowledge fledglings like yourselves as ninjas. But, you might have a small amount of ninja blood running through you after all."

Twirling and flipping about his sword fancily to show off and intimidate, the clone continued. "As a courtesy, from ninja to ninja, I will honor you by killing you like I would kill another ninja. I'll kill you by slicing you right open without you seeing me coming. Get ready to experience my Silent Killing technique, it will be your last experience in this world."

As the clone finished, he back up into the mist, disappearing.

_(Youtube: Mark of the Ninja OST-10 Ninja Intensity)_

"Hinata! Keep track of him!" Shikamaru ordered, taking command, as was their established chain if Asuma was unavailable for any reason.

"I-I'm trying, but he k-keeps switching p-positions so fast that it is all b-becoming a blur." She said, her desperation in her voice clearly heard.

"Hear that Asuma?" The real Zabuza spoke lowly to his captive. "If you had any misgivings about Mist ninjas' abilities, this is proof that the Hidden mist excel in both stealth and open combat, doesn't it? Your mission is about to fail and all of you will die. At least it will all be nice and quick."

After a few moments, the clone had shunshined so fast and left enough chakra residue that Hinata's Byakugan was useless. It was then they heard the clone speak from an undetermined location.

"Eight points: heart, kidneys, larynx, liver, lungs, brain, spine, jugular. Which one to strike, I wonder? Which will be the kill point for the four of you?"

That more than unnerved everyone in the group, they were frightened as they never had been before. Tazuna was ready to faint and let himself get killed while unconscious. The trio of Genin were desperate to find and fight the clone, if only to stop the feeling of dread mounting by the second.

Then, suddenly, a sound of someone exhaling slowly yet loudly penetrated the silence. The sound came from everywhere. Zabuza and his clone knew that one wasn't part of their MO in Silent Killing, both narrowed their eyes as they realized another ninja had entered the battle.

The sound of a blade striking a body was heard, followed by a splashing sound. Zabuza immediately surmised his clone had been destroyed by this new combatant. To manage that in this mist and against one of his clones, though weaker than the original, was nothing to sneer at.

Asuma regained a spark of hope that things could turn out alright after all, but he was still very much worried for their situation.

Tazuna was uncertain of what was going on, but he was certain that the one that was projecting his voice and breathing everywhere like that was equally frightening to him.

Hinata, Chouji and Shikamaru were overjoyed at the reinforcements, whom they also knew very well. Only one guy fought in this manner. It was confirmed beyond all doubt when a voice spoke from everywhere at once.

"Oi, no-brows." It began. Zabuza frowned and growled lowly at the insult.

'Naruto!' Hinata thought with joy, affection and relief. The other two were of very similar mindset, sans a particular aspect.

"Have you ever danced with a ghost stalker in the pale mist?" Naruto finished, making his voice sound eery.

'This kid ain't half-bad at this.' Zabuza thought with an impressed smirk. 'It's been awhile since I've battled anyone of a similar style to mine. I think I will indulge the brat.' He decided with a hidden grin. "Never had the pleasure, care to lead _Ghost Stalker-san_?"

"De-lighted to, _Mist Demon_." Naruto replied from the mist.

Zabuza created a clone that held Asuma in place while he personally went on the hunt for this "Ghost Stalker", vanishing into the mist.

And so the battle between two silent hunters began.

_(Youtube: Mark of the Ninja OST-10 Ninja Intensity END)_


	2. Plans of Attack

Ghost Stalker Chronicles

Paths of a Ninja

Chapter 2: Plans of Attack

Mist. An airborne state water can assume. Something akin to ground-level clouds, you might say. It usually is an element in stories and legends for mystery or horror, or both.

Right now, for the bridge builder, there was little mystery concealed by the mist, although horror was very much prevalent. He was currently sticking close to a group of children in their early teens as if his life depended on it, because it quite literally did. What had started off as a journey with some hired protection has turned into a, to him, supernatural battle over his life. And it seemed that his protectors were outmatched by the assassins his hated enemy, Gato, hired.

But then, just as he was certain that he, along with the brave children trying to protect him, would die a gruesome death at the hands of this "Demon of the Mist", someone had apparently entered the fray and challenged him to a fight. By the sounds of it, this new arrival was just as scary because he could operate within the mist just as well as their enemy. Even though their deaths were postponed by this interference, he was not going to relax. This new one might not be their friend, just because he interrupted their execution.

Then they heard that breathy noise once again. It really frightened the poor bridge builder to the bone. Then they heard Zabuza speaking in the mist, apparently giving some sort of response to the noise. It at least let Tazuna know that both of them were too busy to worry about him at the moment.

He then looked at his guardians. Tazuna wasn't more observant than the average civilian, but even he could see that they appeared encouraged by the arrival of this unknown ninja.

He whispered to them. "I sincerely hope you're smiling because this... person that just arrived is here to aid us."

Chouji chose to reply in the same manner. "Definitely. And this guy fights in a similar manner that Zabuza does."

"But can he defeat him?" Tazuna asked with a slightly rekindled hope. "Your sensei was subdued by him. If he couldn't, what makes you think this new guy can?"

"Technically speaking..." Shikamaru said. "He shouldn't be able to fight him head-on. But a battle of stealth is a different battle than that of steel and jutsu. Our reinforcement specializes in stealthy operations. If anyone of us has a chance to keep up with Zabuza in this field, he can."

"Wont they still need to fight?" Tazuna asked.

"Not if one strikes down the other before the other can retaliate." Shikamaru responded. "But that isn't important right now for us."

"How can you say that?!" Tazuna quietly exclaimed. "Our lives hang in the balance."

"Maybe, but we simply cannot be idle either, waiting for the outcome. We need to act."

"But what are we going to do, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Tazuna, I'm sorry but we need to confer in our own way. Trust us to get us out of this mess." Shikamaru said before continuing with hand-signs to the others. "_We must attempt to free sensei, we have no other way to contribute. Fleeing wont get us anywhere. Zabuza will notice our attempt to escape and chase us down easily and cut us down while our backs are turned. Naruto wont be able to intercept in time, even if he could he would have to forgo his stealth techniques, thus revealing himself and Zabuza may capitalize upon that and take him out while vulnerable before leisurely disposing of us._"

"_I wouldn't have left Naruto-kun while he's fighting for us anyway._" Hinata gestured with a firm look. Something that was a rare thing to see on her face.

"_Ditto._" Chouji agreed with a smile.

Smiling, Shikamaru continued. "_Alright, what we need to do is take out that clone guarding sensei while still remaining by Tazuna's side. We need to convince him to move carefully towards sensei so we can be in a position to make our move._"

"_What do we do when we get there?_" Chouji asked.

Considering the question for a moment, Shikamaru gestured his plan. "_The clone has no choice but to remain where he is in order to keep sensei immobile. Which leaves us with more to work with. But also a risk._"

"_What's that?_" Hinata asked, with worry.

"_Once the clone notices us, he might decide that it is not worth keeping sensei alive and kills him in order to counter our attack. We need to somehow surprise him and neutralize him quickly._"

"_But how, we can't hide or move stealthily like Naruto or sensei can?_" Chouji pointed out.

"_And therein lies our main problem. In this mist, I can't go far with my shadow and bind him from long range. We need to get close before I can do that. It is essential to the plan, or the clone will just evade our attacks. Chouji, your main form of attack lies in your meat-tank form, but it will hurt, possibly even kill sensei as well when you come at them. We can't risk that. Hinata must get close as well to fight. Throwing weapons will do no good since he will hear them coming and block with his giant sword. The only solution is to move sneakily into position to strike. But that is all but impossible with our charge in tow. Man, all this signing is tiring my hands._"

Smiling a bit, despite the situation, at that last comment, Hinata pointed out. "_Perhaps we can get sensei to distract the clone somehow, or somehow get Naruto-kun to help._"

"_Either option would help. But how to do it without alerting either the clone or Zabuza?_" Chouji asked.

"_Good point._" Shikamaru said.

"_If only we didn't have to protect Tazuna, we'd be able to get to sensei._" Chouij idly commented with a look of frustration.

Shikamaru frowned at that. Not at the comment, but a part of it.

'Tazuna? Maybe... just maybe. But if it works, it will be the biggest drag I will have experienced to date. Although dying young is way worse.'

"Tazuna-san." Shikamaru addressed the man in a whisper. "Would you like to help?"

"Me? If it helps us get out of this, I'd love to. But what can I do? I'm no fighter." Tazuna responded with a surprised look.

"What are you thinking, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata asked with a surprised look of her own.

Shikamaru signed. "_I haven't tried it yet, but I know I can do it. Trouble is, I can't do it for long, nor will I get a second chance at it. And I'll probably be out of commission for some time because of it._"

"_Try what_?" Chouji asked, worried.

"_To do a chain-bind, with the target in motion and someone else already bound._"

"_But wont the target be frozen once bound?_"

"_Not if the target is in mid-air._"

"_How do you know he will be in mid-air?_" Hinata asked, perplexed.

"_Because the clone, once Tazuna, our bait, is in range will tempt him to finish the mission quickly, and believing that Tazuna wont react in time, which he normally wouldn't but I will be in control of his actions through my shadow, he will leap like a predator pouncing on its prey in the hopes of a quick kill of the main target. It is then, when the clone has no way of evading my shadow, that I will go for his shadow. But since he will be in an unstoppable motion, it will drain my chakra to the point of depletion before he lands. That means you have only a brief moment to take him out before I loose my hold on him._"

"_But what about you? You might die from the effort!_" Hinata cautioned with deep concern.

"_It's a risk, but one I'm willing to take to see at least the rest of you safe._" Shikamaru gestured with a finality to it.

"So, Tazuna. Do you trust us?" Shikamaru said after their silent conversation was finished.

"I... suppose I do." He answered uncertainly.

"Good, because we need you to help us help you. Come here." Shikamaru gestured Tazuna to come closer in order to whisper into his ear, minimizing the risk of Zabuza overhearing.

Once he was done, Tazuna was about to exclaim "Are you insane!?" when Shikamaru held his mouth shut with his hand.

"It is the only way I can see us getting out of this alive, yourself included." He assured quietly.

"You should listen to him, his strategic ability is on par with Chunin at least." Chouji said in support of his friend.

"Do I... have your word that I wont be (gulp) harmed?" Tazuna asked, fearing for his life.

"You have my word as a Nara." Shikamaru reassured.

Struggling with the notion for a few moments, Tazuna nodded his agreement.

With Naruto and Zabuza – From the start of the stealth duel

Zabuza's senses were on high-alert. He knew that this was a dangerous type of fight, even for him. But that was what made it so exhilarating and satisfying when he slays his opponent, the knowledge that one could die any second from any slip-up or moment of distraction. Zabuza, however, was also a firm believer in his own ability to do the very same to his foe. In fact, he was quite convinced that he was the more experienced and skilled of the two lethal duelists.

That said, he had yet to detect any form of presence outside of the ones before the new arrival. Whoever this kid was, because he distinctly heard it to be a voice of an adolescent male, he was good enough to evade his senses so far. And he kept an eye, so to speak, on the others to see if the kid was going to help them rather than go after him. Nothing of the sort seemed to go on, so he kept hunting. The tiniest of noise, the slightest breeze in the air that could come from someone moving or the disturbance of the grass beneath, anything to indicate a presence. There was so far nothing.

But he knew he was out there somewhere, hunting for him as he, himself, was hunting him. It was a matter of time before either would strike the first, and possibly only, blow.

Suddenly, there was a sound, it was that breathy noise that seemed to come from everywhere at once, so it wasn't possible to locate the source. With an analytical mind-set, Zabuza noted that this was a rather effective way to intimidate those of weak hearts.

'Gotta hand it to that kid. That creepy noise is a worthy rival to my kill-point speech.'

But Zabuza wasn't without his own scare-tactics you couldn't pinpoint. Projecting his own voice in a similar manner, as he taught himself to do just for his Silent Killing technique, he taunted his foe.

"Cute trick, kid. But it wont work on me. Tell me, have you considered how you'd like to die? Lack of blood? Severed head? Dismemberment? Cleaved body?"

To his amusement, he got a response from that same, breathy voice he heard just a moment ago.

"I think you have more pressing concerns than my death. Like your own."

Just then, Zabuza felt a slight breeze. He dodged and swung his blade in the direction of the source.

Nothing.

"What's the matter 'mist demon'? Can't find your stalker?" That voice spoke again.

"Oh, I'll find you. Don't doubt that for a second, kid. And when I do, you'll have no more breaths to use for that silly parlor trick you think is scary."

"If it's not scary, why is your heart pounding so hard and fast?"

"I'm exhilarated. I like battles that tests my mettle." Zabuza replied with a clear tone of excitement.

"Glad to hear I'm a challenge. But you would be wrong to mistake me for simple sport." Naruto's voice turned darker at the end.

"And you would be in error to believe you have a chance against me, brat." Zabuza growled menacingly.

Just then, Zabuza saw the grass move like someone stepped on it. He immediately swung his sword in a chopping motion. Hitting only the ground, he immediately and fast as the wind swung horizontally in the hopes of getting the invisible enemy he knew was there a moment ago.

Still nothing.

He was certain that time that the kid was there. He was starting to wonder if he was actually letting the scare tactics get to him, the one who wrote the book on the subject, figuratively speaking. Dismissing that brief thought, he instead wondered how the kid was staying out of sight.

"I have no reason to believe I don't have a chance when all you do is swing that thing around like a clumsy club wielding caveman." Naruto taunted mischievously.

Growling in irritation, Zabuza answered, "Then show yourself and I'll grace you with the finest moves in my swordsmanship repertoire."

"Are we ninjas or samurai? I'll beat you as I am meant to. Suddenly, and from out of nowhere." Naruto's voice turned darker again.

"Alright, if that's how this is gonna be, I'll show you a true ninja kill. It will be your last lesson, brat." Zabuza snarled.

"Aww, you don't have to volunteer to die like that." Naruto replied sarcastically.

Zabuza said nothing, but was fuming inside at the audacity this fledgling ninja dared show against someone of his caliber. He then realized with a small start that he had let the boy's words get to him, like some ripe Genin. Barely restraining a snarl of anger at that, he redoubled his efforts to find him.

Naruto, meanwhile, was having a bit of trouble himself.

Right from the start he knew that this battle would be difficult. His stealth capabilities was matching Zabuza's, but he knew without a doubt that he was no match for Zabuza in open combat. The only recourse was to try to outdo him in stealth.

But as he feared, Zabuza was difficult to locate in the mist. He was right at home within it, as he found out. Once found, however, he was much easier to keep up with. But Zabuza was adept as well in detecting the tiniest movement or sound, the mist being no obstacle to his efforts. Which made approaching him a dangerous prospect.

Already he had two near-misses that was due to the ex-Mist nin sensing his presence. The first from a breeze generated by his own movements. The second because Zabuza saw his footsteps in the grass.

It didn't really matter that sounds were dampened either, as air-displacement and terrain disturbance was enough to alert him. Zabuza kept himself on the move and in order to keep up with him, Naruto had to move just as fast as him, but it generated those breezes that tipped him off.

'I could try to come at him from different directions.' Naruto then thought and created a shadow-clone. But to his horror, he discovered that his invisibility was not maintained, nor was it possible to reactivate it for some reason while the clone was active. After dispelling the clone, it was possible once more. Just in time too, before Zabuza came and violently investigated the spot where the clone was.

'What's going on? Why did it cause problems? I know it didn't when I was fighting Mizuki!' He thought, perplexed. He also realized that this meant he couldn't send a clone to confer with and help his teammates, or help Asuma-sensei.

After gaining a bit of distance from Zabuza once again, he tried to conjure up a few of his Phantom Squad replicas. Thankfully they seemed to work. They weren't concealed, nor were they capable of inflicting physical harm, but they would be useful still.

Sending them against Zabuza, Naruto waited to see what would happen.

Zabuza was frowning in frustration and confusion. He had sensed a jutsu going active but just before his arrival, it was deactivated. But there was still nothing there. He didn't know what to make of that. Had he aborted an attempt to attack him or was it simply a simple misdirection?

He quickly used his senses to scan the area. The others were still in their previous positions, although he thought for a brief moment that they seemed closer to his clone and Asuma than before. But Zabuza had no time to further ponder that notion. For in that instant he was attacked by black-clad, masked ninjas. They tried to strike him with ninja-tos. He evaded most of them, but he was taken by surprise when one from behind managed to stab him in the left thigh.

The pain he felt was not of the kind he expected, he felt as if the muscles in and around the wound was suffering from chakra depletion rather than punctured skin and tissue. Looking down quickly while dodging, he noticed that he was actually not harmed by the strike, what he could see anyway.

As he was continuing to avoid the attackers, with greater difficulty due to the effect he was experiencing, he took note of the fact that he should have sensed the attack coming from the enemy's movement. But he didn't.

It was as he was counter-attacking that he discovered part of the explanation. He sliced through a foe, that simply shimmered a bit before resuming its attack.

'A bunshin of some sort.' He realized. 'But what sort of bunshin is not solid but can land effective blows? Not to mention stay active after an attack?'

Trying something on a hunch, he used the broad side of the blade to swing. This had a substantially more effective impact on the bunshin he targeted. It didn't shimmer and reform. It dispersed completely, not being able to maintain cohesion.

With this weakness discovered, it was a small matter of swinging at the clones in a club-like manner, a point of frustration as he actually proved the brat's insult to be correct. The only consolation was that it was effective and thwarted the brat's attempt to subdue him. It required more effort and was somewhat slower than normal due to the aerial-resistance, but it got the job done.

Naruto scowled in frustration. 'There goes that approach.' He thought.

But he happened to be at an angle where he could keep an eye on Zabuza at the same time as having the team in view, or their blurry silhouettes at any rate. He noticed that Shikamaru was apparently shadow-binding Tazuna before they approached the water clone. He knew because he could sense the jutsu being in effect. The jutsu's signature was weak due to the distance, but it was there. Naruto could definitely tell it was that jutsu from the many times they had combos involving that jutsu during practices. It took a moment, but Naruto caught on to the gist of what Shikamaru was doing. It was a risky plan, but it was possible it could work.

'I'll need to keep no-brows busy enough to distract him from what's going on.' He concluded.

With that task firmly set in his mind, Naruto let loose even more Phantoms against Zabuza.

It was working, Zabuza was preoccupied with slaying bunshins left and right, whose chakra releases when expired masked the goings on not far from them.

However, Naruto forgot to take into account that he was sending his Phantoms at Zabuza from one spot only.

Zabuza noticed that the clones all seemed to come from one direction, which, he quickly surmised, had to mean that their creator must be hiding somewhere in that same direction. Continuing his massacring of the rather ineffective nuisances, he made his way towards Naruto.

Shikamaru had led the group closer to the clone's location, carefully moving so as to not alert it to their movement. So far the clone has not taken notice, it seemed preoccupied by the sounds of battle going on not far away.

'This should be close enough.' Thought the Nara as he went behind Tazuna. "Time to start the baiting, are you ready, Tazuna-san?" He whispered.

"No, but let's do it anyway." Tazuna replied with a resigned tone.

Nodding, even though Tazuna couldn't see it, Shikamaru connected his shadow to Tazuna's and started to move towards the clone, the other two keeping pace to keep up appearances.

They moved in a way that made it appear as if they were trying to bypass the clone's position and get passed him. This was to ensure that the clone would not think too hard about them getting closer to him. Shikamaru noted that it being distracted would help as it would reason, once it noticed them, that it was distracted and they were taking advantage of it. And they were, just not in the way it would think.

Sure enough, the clone finally took notice of the group as they were "trying to escape". It briefly chastised itself for allowing them to get that far, and so close at that. But seeing as they were foolishly trying to get by it and risking their charge doing so, it would strike the blow to finish it all while they were distracted with their own attempt to sneak off. After all, Zabuza might be a bloodthirsty ninja, but he was also practical. If the cause for a mission is neutralized, ninjas generally stop fighting and retreat. With that in mind, and the target in range of his attack, it was natural for the clone to do just that.

At the peak of its ascent, Shikamaru moved himself, and subsequently Tazuna, out of harms way at the same time as stretching out his shadow to connect and bind the clone's. As expected, it drained him immensely, but it did the job, also as expected. Once the clone landed and froze, Hinata ran to it and promptly disposed of it with a Jyuuken strike to the temple, it dissolved into harmless water.

Shikamaru collapsed, his reserves nearly depleted. Chouji stayed with him and Tazuna while Hinata helped Asuma on his feet.

"Good job, you guys." Asuma praised. "Now, I need to pay that overcompensating bastard back. You guys go on ahead, me and Naruto will handle him. Don't worry about any more ninja, this was definitely the best they had and we're on top of it now, but keep your eyes peeled all the same. Hinata is in charge until we rejoin you."

"Hai, sensei!" Hinata affirmed and rejoined her squad. Tazuna had picked Shikamaru up and carried him while the other two assumed formation again and ran with him away from the battle.

Naruto was in a spot of trouble now. Zabuza had detected him by seeing the indentation of his feet on the grass and was now chasing the indentations as they were made when he ran. Opting to forgo stealth, he now released the invisibility jutsu and drew his tanto and faced his enemy.

"You have played the hide-and-seek game well, brat. But now that you're exposed, you're as good as dead!" Zabuza growled but a smirk clearly seen even through his mask.

Naruto made to deflect the incoming blade when Zabuza sensed an incoming threat and had to dodge. Where he stood a moment ago, stood now Asuma Sarutobi, unrestrained and very angry.

"I think the one who's good as dead is you, Zabuza." He said, twirling his trench-knives before snapping them into place in his hands in a combat ready stance. "Round Two you bastard!"

"Fine by me!" Zabuza snarled and charged.

"Ghost Stalker-san! Follow my lead!" He called out to Naruto while giving discreet one-handed signs saying, 'Combat Pattern Kumabachi!' before engaging Zabuza in melee combat.

He refrained from addressing Naruto by his name, since Naruto had asked, with the Hokage's agreement, to use a code name when on a mission. Since Naruto had already pseudo-introduced himself as such, Asuma called him that to keep his identity and affiliation hidden.

"As you wish!" Naruto acknowledged and proceeded to summon a dozen shadow clones and sent them on an all out assault against Zabuza.

Zabuza found himself at a severe disadvantage as Asuma was keeping him on his toes and then had to contend with a small army of clones coming at him from all directions. A swift, full circle sweep of his blade took care of the first wave and had Asuma briefly stand back to avoid the cut, but Zabuza wasn't fooling himself by thinking he could keep this up. The kid might be a Genin, judging by his age, but he was highly dangerous because of his solid copies, especially since he was contending with someone who could stand toe-to-toe with him and he was still feeling the effects, though that was gradually subsiding, of that lucky strike one of those bunshins hit him with. He had to think of some form of plan or he would be defeated before long.

He rapidly formed signs and created two water clones using up the moisture from the mist he had created, clearing the air completely of the obscuring element. He ordered his clones to watch his back from the incoming enemy clones while he faced Asuma in relative peace.

Being considerably weaker than the original, the water clones were having trouble fending off the clones, although none got passed them. Naruto attempted to simply overwhelm them with numbers, but that didn't work as swimmingly as he imagined in his mind. Spamming him with clones wasn't going to cut it, and he knew that eventually, even he would run out of juice.

'Based on the fact that clones are generally weaker than their creator, I should be able to keep pace with one of his clones if I took one of them on in person. But there's two of them and I would be chopped to pieces in seconds.' Naruto considered.

'I have to take out at least one somehow. I could sneak up on one of them, take him out and then engage the other one, who will doubtlessly locate me easily after I strike his "brother" down. Maybe then I can overwhelm him with numbers and then help sensei afterward.'

His plan formed, he proceeded to action. The last of his clones were just taken out and he used the brief smoke-screen they provided through their demises to conceal his Haunting Hunt jutsu taking effect. That way they wouldn't immediately know he was going to approach them that way.

The water clones were keeping constant vigil for any approaching clones, but the waves of clones seemed to have halted. Before any of them could consider anything else outside of that fact, one fell to a stab from Naruto's ninjato. Just as Naruto expected, the other clone, having the experience of its creator in how to detect signs of his presence, easily located where he was and proceeded to chase him. However, he came at him quicker than Naruto anticipated, giving no time to create his clones to fight him with. He had to dodge and deflect the rapid strikes and sweeps the clone was assailing him with.

Their clash was a violent measuring of their kenjutsu styles. Zabuza's raw power and surprising speed for the size of the weapon he wielded versus Naruto's normal sized weapon and self-invented style which was based of his taijutsu style: "Tempered Rampage". He called it "Harmonious Flurry". It was, like Tempered Rampage, a mix of several styles combined together to form a style that has the grace, speed and technique of the more elegant users, yet also has the move-sets for strength based offenses and defenses.

Or rather, it will have, since Naruto was not yet in possession of enough body mass nor the appropriate weapons to utilize the strength part of his style. Which meant that he had not yet had the chance to incorporate that part yet into the Harmonious Flurry repertoire. He had enough speed and technique to be a capable combatant against others of roughly the same level of kenjutsu mastery, regardless of style. But he was the first to admit that he was way more ahead in his taijutsu version.

His senseis had noted that his level of unpredictability was to his advantage and probably was not going to be something that could be taught to others. They could have the moves, but not the innate instinct he seemed to possess in order to make full use of the different combinations' potential.

In the midst of their battle, Naruto ever so briefly had to agree that it sure was helping him from getting sliced into tiny bits. But unlike the battle with Mizuki, who was at best mid-Chunin level in the use of kunai and ninjato in melee combat, this confrontation was in a whole other league. Even though it was a weaker version of the real deal, the clone was forcing Naruto to use every ounce of ingenuity he had in him to counter the attacks the clone was swinging his direction, while occasionally managing to attack in return, though the clone avoided taking any hits so far.

All he managed to do so far was almost entirely focus on deflecting the strikes he couldn't dodge in a way that didn't break his weapon against the sheer weight and kinetic force the massive blade wrought in each strike. Taking that into account in a very fast paced and stressful fight was extremely taxing and Naruto found he had to merely dodge lots of times in order to get micro breathers to refocus his thoughts.

'Note to self: More kenjutsu lessons once I get back to the village.' He wryly thought to himself during one of those breathers.

Naruto began to become weary from the efforts. The clone, not able to get tired from physical exertion, kept its attacks just as strongly as when they began. It was when Naruto was sure that he would die within a few seconds since his arms began to protest strongly, that the clone suddenly showed a slightly surprised face and took a swing at someone behind him. Too sudden for Naruto to capitalize, he nevertheless pressed his attack and the clone resumed its melee with him. But it didn't take more than a moment before it apparently got hit by something and collapsed into water.

Once it did, Naruto got a clear view of... Hinata, still recovering her extended arm that was clearly posed in a Jyuuken strike, her eyes still in their activated state.

"Great timing, Hinata-chan, thanks a million!" Naruto said happily, relieved at the help.

Returning the smile, she said. "I... I wouldn't l-leave you when you're f-fighting someone s-stronger for our sake."

Naruto nodded and said reassuringly, "Well, don't worry about sensei. I'm sure he'll understand. But what about Tazuna and Shika 'n Chouji?"

"Th-they are waiting for us a bit down the road... Chouji-kun is w-watching over Tazuna-san and Shikamaru-kun." She replied.

"Okay, you should get back to them, me and Asuma can finish off this guy." Naruto said seriously.

"B-But the fight isn't over, I c-can help!" Hinata protested anxiously.

"And you have helped a lot, Hinata-chan." Naruto said with a happy grin and nod. "But you can't leave your client too exposed."

"Our? Isn't he yours as well, Naruto-kun?" Hinata said, slightly confused.

"Not exactly, but I'll explain more later. Right now, you need to help Choji protect the client. I'd wager that sensei would want you to go on to Tazuna's place. Go!" He urged as he held his weapon at the ready and ran at the fight still progressing nearby.

Hinata looked after Naruto for a moment before she decided that if Naruto asked her to do it and he was in no overwhelming danger, she should comply with his request, which coincided with her original orders to boot. Being a serious kunoichi sadly meant that duty had to come before personal desires to assist comrades sometimes. She had already given enough help to them to tip the scales to at least balanced once more, and that was enough. She knew she had to go back. And so she did.

Naruto rushed to his sensei's aid and began fighting with Zabuza, who had started to use various water jutsu with ease due to the proximity to a natural source of water, the river they were standing on.

Asuma countered with various Doton (earth style) jutsus to block or absorb the water coming at him and counter-attacking with the various fire styles he knew, including his Burning Ash Cloud jutsu. But Zabuza was too quick and either evaded or countered his jutsus with water jutsus, he also wasn't foolish enough to remain even near that cloud, so it was a sad waste of energy.

The times they clashed weapons was just as intense as before, but Zabuza found that Asuma was on his guard against surprise moves this time and wouldn't be taken down so easily again. Being a wind user, Asuma made full use of his ability to cause his giant sword damage. This was what made Zabuza resort more to jutsus in order to keep his weapon from taking too much damage.

Naruto attempted once again to swarm Zabuza with clones, but Zabuza was a master in jutsu directing and took care of most clones he produced and sent at him with sweeping water jutsus, the rest he simply cleaved before going back to facing Asuma before the trench-knife wielding man could exploit the opening.

Irritated to be considered little more than a nuisance, Naruto considered his options. Stealth was a no go, the mist wasn't present anymore and Zabuza could see the waves his feet made on the surface of the water, not to mention he would hear his steps, no matter how gently he would have tried to approach him. Then there was the fact he was moving too much for him to approach undetected from behind, due to air movements.

Clones were obviously out of the question, except as distractions, which didn't seem to affect the battle's direction much. Ranged weapons didn't do much since he could block...

It was then that Naruto had a stroke of inspiration. He had been going about this whole thing in the wrong way. He had been sending clones in to fight him in close combat, like it was the only thing he could do, like a friggin' Samurai adhering to his code of honor. He slapped himself both mentally and literally for doing something so stupid, especially since he, himself, kept going on about fighting like ninjas are supposed to.

'Well, goes to show I still have lots to learn.' He mused before making his hand seal for clones.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu)" He called out. And like that the place was filled with numerous clones.

"You all know the plan! Get to your positions!" He ordered, they nodded and spread out all around the two Jonin duking it out on top of the water.

'Come on, sensei, get out of the way!' He thought, as if hoping his sensei could hear his thoughts.

When his sensei was showing no signs of leaving the melee he was in, he then tried to think of a way to signal him. Some way to let him know what he needed him to do without Zabuza immediately catching on.

After a moment, he thought of something slightly far fetched, but believed it was within Asuma's ability to understand.

"Go Fish!" He shouted to him before immediately giving the mental command to his battalion to begin the attack.

Asuma heard the words, but didn't immediately understand what Naruto meant. But within a second had noticed the surrounding clones, all wielding kunai and/or shuriken. Grasping his comrade's intent, he didn't need more than another second to realize the meaning of the warning. Just as the attack began, Asuma simply halted his flow of energy to his feet that was keeping him atop the water. He fell into the water below with a splash.

Zabuza had noticed the clones around him and was thoroughly impressed by the sheer number of them seeing as they were shadow clones, a supposedly costly jutsu. However, he was not paying any mind outside of that checking in his peripheral vision if they were approaching or not. When that warning shout came, he was frowning in confusion as to the meaning. When he saw Asuma sink below the surface, he instantly understood. Not even a second after that, he got his confirmation when the clones, some in mid-air, threw their throwing weapons at him. He ever so briefly considered following Asuma underwater, but knew that would invite him to be killed as Asuma would be waiting for his escape attempt, should he choose to follow him, and strike the fatal blow before he could recover from the sudden submergence.

He also knew that he had no way of blocking the weapons coming simultaneously from all directions. It was a fearsome attack tactic, perfectly executed in concert with the man he was in combat with just a second ago. The shinobi in him praised the attack with professional acknowledgment.

Quickly going through hand-signs, he called out his only hope of escape. "Suiton (Water Style): Vortex Screen!"

The water immediately surrounding Zabuza's feet rose in a swirling spiral around him and shielded him from head to toe. The weapons coming at him were all stopped and caught in the current present in the jutsu.

He was confident that he had evaded the attack when suddenly a trench knife penetrated the water spiraling around him and struck him in the torso, and went out the other side of his body and even through the water behind him. It wasn't a kill point, but he was severely weakened due to the wound all the same.

Dropping to his knees, the jutsu ended due to his lacking concentration. His eyes beheld a soaking Asuma, hand still outstretched in an unmistakable throwing pose.

"Forgot that wind jutsu can penetrate just about anything... I was careless." He grunted out, his pain evident.

"Careless? Hardly. You were outwitted and overwhelmed." Asuma said, hard eyes boring into Zabuza's.

Drawing labored breaths, Zabuza's gaze fell upon Naruto, who had dismissed his clones, seeing as his enemy was more or less incapacitated.

"You know, for a kid, you're good, and unpredictable. I'm almost prepared to call you a true ninja." Zabuza complimented with a look of reluctant respect. "Tell me, what do you call that barrage thing you did?"

Not prepared for the question, Naruto answered nonetheless. "To tell you the truth, I just made it up. I guess I'll call it the 'No Escape Shuriken'. No wait, that's not awesome enough, plus you did escape it... How does 'Iron Curtain' sound?"

Chuckling wheezily despite his state, Zabuza nodded his approval of the name. "Sure would have been curtains for me had that hit."

Naruto grinned behind his mask and nodded his thanks, but kept himself alert for any surprises.

"I don't understand though, you're not a Leaf shinobi, from what I can tell. What made you interfere with this battle?" Zabuza asked.

"Because I could." Naruto said immediately. There was no point in correcting an enemy if he was mistaken.

"Why help them and not me, then?" Zabuza pressed.

"Was I helping them? I was fighting you, no-brows. I wanted a challenge from someone who specializes in stealth. Not many of them around, you know." Naruto answered. Asuma raised an eyebrow in respect of Naruto's evasive yet plausible answer. To Zabuza it looked as if Asuma was thinking 'That's all?'.

Grunting in acceptance of the seemingly candid answer, which also was a reason Zabuza could relate to, Zabuza looked back at Asuma. Zabuza asked. "So, will you capture me, or kill me? Anything outside of those options and you know I will just come back to finish the job."

"As a missing nin," Asuma said. "I'll cut off your head and claim the bounty placed upon it."

"Heh...I suppose if anyone deserves it..." He never got to finish the sentence due to a couple of senbon needles striking him in the neck. He swayed for a second before falling straight into the water. A moment later, a masked shinobi bearing the mark of the Mist appeared in front of Naruto and Asuma. Before they had a chance to speak, the Mist nin beat them to it.

"That was a most impressive fight, Konoha." He complimented with a neutral tone but accompanied the statement with a bow. "I have been waiting for a suitable opportunity to exploit a moment of weakness. I must thank you for providing that opportunity."

Asuma and Naruto exchanged glances before Asuma responded. "You are welcome, although I feel the bounty should go to us for doing all the work."

"My apologies, Konoha-san. As a Mist ANBU on location of the kill, any bounty is rescinded as I am on site to perform the clean-up and the process of claiming the kill and the subsequent bounty is unnecessary. Besides, it was my senbon that were the actual killing weapons, that makes it my kill anyway, regardless of prior efforts of others. I have also been after him for far longer than you have been aware of his missing nin status. I believe that gives me some right to claim the reward for the kill to start with as well." The ANBU said with another bow to underline the apology.

"Well," Naruto said friendlily. "how about we split the reward? Half for you, half for us?"

"That would be impractical, I'm afraid, since I do not carry any money outside of anticipated mission expenditures such as resupply and food and lodgings. We'd have to travel to the nearest bounty office which is a considerable distance away from here."

Naruto didn't notice it, but Asuma did notice the subtle signs of unease or agitation coming from the masked Mist ninja. He couldn't tell exactly which it was, but either way it was probably better to back off.

"We understand, ANBU-san. We need to get going ourselves as it is. Safe travels." Asuma said and gave an unspoken order to Naruto to follow. Naruto gave a glance at the Mist ninja before running after his sensei.

Once they were gone, the man dove after the body of Zabuza. Appearing soon after with him, he shunshined away, returning the peace and silence to the area once more.

It didn't take long for Naruto and Asuma to link up with the rest of the team, after they had retrieved any weapons on the way, including Asuma's thrown trench knife. But they didn't like what they saw, at all.

For it seemed Tazuna was attacked. Thankfully he didn't seem critically injured. Chouji had taken the worst of it, judging by the amount of senbon stuck to his body. Hinata had a couple of them on her as well, though she had removed them before she started to remove Chouji's. Tazuna was hit with senbon as well, but was protected enough to merely get some on his right arm and leg. It handicapped him a bit, but he was otherwise unharmed.

Chouji was unconscious, as was Shikamaru. Hinata was in the middle of her removal of Chouji's senbon, seeing as he was the most severely hit, when Asuma and Naruto arrived.

It was upon seeing the weapon used in the attack that Asuma cursed rather colorfully.

"That 'ANBU' was no ANBU, he's an accomplice to Zabuza." He growled. Naruto didn't need to be told why, he understood the implications all too well. Even if you couldn't see his whole face, his eyes showed his angry scowl.

"What happened?" Asuma asked as he helped Hinata pull out the senbon from Chouji's body. Naruto was seeing to Tazuna.

Hinata explained that she had just returned to their side when an unseen shinobi started to assault them with barrages of senbon. Tazuna had gotten the first wave of them when Chouji, without hesitation, blocked them with his own body. Hinata tried to locate the ninja, but had no time to engage her Byakugan before she, too, came under attack. She managed to dodge all but a few of them. The attack seemed to stop by then.

"Why weren't you with them, Hinata?" Asuma asked with a disappointed look.

Hinata was expecting this, but it didn't sting any less when Asuma leveled a stern stare at her and asked the accusing question. Before Hinata could answer, Naruto did so on her behalf.

"She came to help me out with that last water clone that was giving me serious trouble, even took it out herself. If she hadn't, I could have lost and died." He said as he was pulling out the last of Tazuna's senbon.

"That's admirable and all, but my orders were clear, weren't they? You were to accompany Chouji in protecting Tazuna and Shikamaru."

"W-well, you s-said yourself t-that we s-shouldn't have any more p-problems. I figured N-Naruto-kun needed my help more than T-Tazuna needed at the time."

Asuma chastised Hinata for not calling Naruto by his codename, making her blush in embarrassment and a little shame, and was about to reprimand further when Naruto spoke up once again. "If she hadn't helped me out, not only would I most likely be dead, but _I_ wouldn't have been able to help _you_. What's more, the clone would've helped Zabuza take you out. If that happened, the rest of us would've had no chance at all. Once she helped me, she went back to protecting Tazuna. I'd say that Hinata did great."

"Maybe so, Ghost-san. But she still ignored a direct order." Asuma said, looking at Naruto with a dissatisfied look, but it also held some amount of pride.

"Then look at it this way; Kakashi Hatake's motto." Naruto simply said. Asuma raised an eyebrow before realizing what he was referring to. He then smiled and nodded before looking once again at Hinata.

"You disobeyed my orders, but I'd say it was for a good reason; to protect a comrade in danger. And in the end, you went back and protected Tazuna as ordered." Hinata smiled at that.

"However..." Asuma continued. "I must point out that it allowed the accomplice to attack before you could use your Byakugan to find him. Had you remained where you were, you would have detected him and you'd have a better chance of repelling the attack."

"Maybe," Naruto interjected. "but there's no guarantee it would have made a difference against the guy. The way I see it, the attack was aborted simply because we were about to kill his partner. At the most, it would have only delayed the hits against Tazuna."

"That is possible, but that isn't the point of my reprimand. I'm trying to impress upon you all that every action has a reaction, a consequence. Ultimately, your action, Hinata, paid off. But it was based on a hastily made decision. We were all lucky this time, but keep in mind next time to take a moment to think more upon what the best course of action would be."

"But Asuma-san," Naruto began again. "that's a luxury you don't always have. Sometimes you have to act fast."

"True, and that's the only time any results may be forgiven, if adverse." Asuma replied.

Hinata was immensely grateful to Naruto for standing up for her, but she still took the reprimand to heart. For she could see her sensei's point. They were indeed lucky things turned out so well as they did. She would think more about all of it and learn what she could. If she could help it, she would not make the same mistakes again, not that helping Naruto was a mistake in her opinion.

"B-But I don't understand w-why the accomplice k-killed Zabuza." She wondered out loud.

"Hmpfh." Asuma snorted in irritation. "He's not dead. The senbon put him in a death-like state by hitting him at the throat. I'm not sure of the specifics, but suffice to say there is a spot there that can be used to put someone in that state with a very precise acupuncture method. For the enemy accomplice to so accurately hit that spot tells a lot of his skill.

I first assumed him to be dead because he was underwater for so long after being hit, longer than one is supposed to be able to hold one's breath, especially taking into consideration his exhaustion and his wound. But a death-like state would slow his body's processes down to the point it seems dead. That way he could stay underwater for longer than normal, but the wound would still be bleeding, quite profusely due to the water, which was why the man was so uneasy since we were taking valuable time from his rescue attempt. I should have seen this coming."

Taking stock of the situation before him, Asuma noticed Tazuna was staring blankly at them, sometimes glancing at Naruto.

"Are you alright, Tazuna-san?" He asked.

"I... suppose so. My arm and leg are rather numb and I can't use them properly." Tazuna replied with a wince as he demonstrated the effect of the senbon.

"Hmm, that will slow us down some." Asuma said. "But it's not like we can move very fast with Shikamaru and Chouji on our backs either. Can you at least walk?"

"Limp is more like it, but yes. It isn't too far until we reach my village anyway. About an hour at a normal pace. In our state, I'd put us close to two hours out now." Tazuna estimated.

Nodding, Asuma turned to Naruto. "I'll carry Chouji" he said to him, lifting the rotund boy onto his shoulder, "if you carry Shikamaru. Once we reach Tazuna-san's home, we'll figure out our next move."

Nodding even as he hoisted Shikamaru up on his back, with some help from Hinata, Naruto started walking, keeping pace with an already moving Tazuna. Wasting no time, Asuma picked up the rotund boy and slung him over his shoulder and started walking as well, Hinata staying between him and Naruto, keeping a constant vigil, determined to warn them well in advance, if an attack comes again before they arrive.

Tazuna occasionally glanced at the black-clad youth walking beside him. He felt a mixture of awe and unease that such a young boy could fight almost on par with that frightening Zabuza character, even if it was a different battle than what he would normally consider a battle. The unease was because the boy kept his mask on and his eyes conveyed both steely determination and confidence as well as, he thought, traces of juvenile excitement. On such a young face, or what he could see of it anyway, it looked strange to him. It was as if he saw a bonafide ninja yet also looking at a kid in a ninja costume, a far cry from the former. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before now, but he was really under the protection of child-soldiers. It didn't really hit him for some reason until now. The concept was something he found horrible. And yet, these younglings didn't seem to be in any way traumatized. He supposed that spoke well of the method of training they employed to prepare them for the job.

Thinking back to the boy he wondered what to make of him. Oh, the boy came across as friendly enough when he was conversing with the others. But he also had the distinct impression that his mission was not originally to be their back-up. As if his mission took him in the same direction as Wave. He knew enough about the lay of the land that there was next to nothing of worth for a ninja to be found beyond Wave, only the sea and the coastline for miles upon miles.

Which made him wonder what exactly his mission in Wave was. He tried to reason with himself that he wasn't assigned to do anything to hurt them. After all, what reason had their village to do that? Not to mention he's helping them out along the way. Then again, he was not in anyway knowledgeable in the ways of ninjas. He only knew that it was based around trickery and deception.

Again, he tried to reason with himself that he was simply letting his fears and the stress of the recent confrontation take his mind to places and situations he had no reason to go. When he thought about it, perhaps there was something of interest to them. He dearly hoped it was to, in some shape or form, hurt Gato. But, not allowing himself to get his hopes up too much, he surmised that once they arrived, things would be made clear, or clearer at any rate.

The trip was uneventful for the group, something they were more than grateful for, considering their recent ordeal. When they first got a good look of the village from a distance, no one conscious could miss the poor state the village was in, even at the distance they were. The buildings were in poor states of sub-par maintenance or disrepair, the streets were dirty and only a few people were crossing the streets, and those were not looking chipper if their gait was anything to go by.

No one said anything, there was nothing to say about the sight except commenting how depressing it looked. And that served no purpose other than rubbing proverbial salt in a wound.

They arrived soon after at Tazuna's home. His daughter, Tsunami, opened the door and welcomed them all warmly. She was an attractive woman in her mid twenties or thirties. She had a figure any woman would be pleased to have, not to mention any man would be pleased to have in his wife or girlfriend. Her cheerful and warm personality only augmented her beauty in the eyes of the ninja entering her home.

At first shocked and worried sick once she noticed that Tazuna and apparently two of the kids were hurt, she was reassured that they were going to be fine after some rest. The boys would require more than Tazuna, since he was only limping, and that would probably wear off after a night's rest or two.

Once Shikamaru and Chouji were put to bed, Asuma, Hinata and Naruto sat down by the dinner table to have a talk about their next move.

"Alright, Naruto. First off, how come you're in the area at all? I thought you had an assignment other than ours? Or did pops send you to be our back-up in case of emergency or something?"

"You're right." Naruto began. "I was assigned a different mission than you guys, but it wasn't to keep an eye on you or help you," he then added happily. "but it didn't say I couldn't while I was at it."

"Okay, but what is your mission?"

"To investigate the exact nature and extent of Gato's corruption and ability to hire mercenaries and missing nin."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Asuma asked. "That's a tall order for someone just becoming a Genin."

"You forget, sensei," Naruto began with a visible grin behind his mask. "that I'm trained quite well in stealth. Much more than the average Genin. This is my specialty."

"Even so..." Asuma started, unconvinced.

"Do you have so little faith in me, sensei?" Naruto asked, mock hurt.

"Well, no. I do believe you're a more than capable Genin. I mean, you are a Tokubetsu-Genin (Special Genin) for a reason after all. But what you're supposed to do means infiltrating Gato's mansion or fortress or whatever the hell he's operating from. He's bound to be surrounded by an army of mercs protecting him, perhaps even those missing nin from before, though I bet Zabuza is far from recovered enough for that right now."

Naruto fixed Asuma with an unwavering gaze. "First off, I'm an expert in stealth, like I said, so they wont notice me since they wont have any means of detecting me on their own. Secondly, even if I get into a combat scenario, those thugs are not going to be that much of a problem even in numbers. You know me" He ended with a wink.

"N-Naruto-kun can d-do it." Hinata said with a smile.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan." Naruto nodded to her with a visible smile.

Ruefully shaking his head, Asuma was nevertheless smiling. "Alright, you have your orders and I'm in no position to countermand them, no matter my reservations. Just be careful, and if you get a shot at Gato himself, perhaps taking him out of the equation would finish things up earlier for all of us and free Wave."

"Me, Yokai-sensei and Jiji aren't too sure about that." Naruto disagreed.

"Oh?"

"Just assassinating Gato will not end things here. We believe that if he were to die just like that, his goons will simply form together and ravage the village for all its worth, and most likely worse..." Naruto said, growling at the end. "And then," he continued. "someone else will simply take his place. What we need is a way to not only rid this place of Gato, but also of the foundation of crime he's established here. Meaning, we need to get to the bottom of how he got to power. For example; his backers, if any. And at the same time find a way to neutralize his mercs, one way or another."

Thinking for a moment, Asuma said. "Dealing with the mercs might be done in one fell swoop if we get them into one position and then take them out with a well placed trap."

"W-what about the p-pirates?" Hinata added.

"Damn, good point Hinata." Naruto groaned.

"Don't the pirates need to dock in Wave for resupplies occasionally? We could sabotage their ships then." Asuma pointed out.

"Yeah, but if we're to deal with both the pirates and the mercs, we need to do both at the same time. Doing one first will doubtlessly alert the other party of trouble and that will make things that much harder to accomplish."

"We could help you with that, me and Hinata could deal with sabotaging the ships." Asuma offered.

"M-m-me?" Hinata stammered in surprise.

"You're ideal for the task, Hinata. Your Byakugan can tell how many pirates and guards are in the area and where they are exactly. You can tell me where they are over the radio as I go and leave the rest to me." Asuma said.

Nodding in agreement to the suggestion, Naruto said. "That leaves only the part of setting the trap for the mercs. I'm thinking maybe we can use what I said before, provoking them into grouping up for a raid and then take them out in one go."

"You're thinking a bomb?" Asuma said.

"It would be ideal, but I don't have enough explosives for that. Combined with any you're carrying we could soften them up before finishing the rest ourselves."

"You're assuming they're numerous enough for that necessity." Asuma said.

"'Always assume the worst, but hope for the best.' That's what my sensei says and I agree with him." Naruto said.

"So you're going to off Gato as the way to provoke them?"

"If I can. There's no guarantee he's even home when I visit." Naruto said.

"If not...?"

"Then I'll improvise." Naruto said mischievously.

Chuckling, Asuma commented. "I knew you'd say that."

"So what will Chouji and Shika do once they're up and about again?" Naruto asked.

"They'll be guarding Tazuna and his family along with us. When me and Hinata are at the docks, they'll have to keep Tazuna here and guard them until we come back, only then can Tazuna resume his building in relative safety.

Suddenly, Naruto turned his head slightly to one side, as if looking at a person besides them, that wasn't there. Knowing the tell-tale sign of someone in communication with someone else, he asked. "Are you in contact with someone?"

"Yeah, with Konoha."

"Konoha!" Asuma exclaimed, slamming his palms on the table, startling Naruto and Tsunami who was in the kitchen not far from the table, though she wasn't near enough to catch the hushed discussion they were having.

"Yeah." Naruto affirmed.

"How? We don't have radios that can reach that far away." Asuma demanded.

"I have a seal drawn on a piece of paper. It was placed on my head and works as a long-range transmitter. However, the perk with this thing is that I merely have to think what I want said and HQ will hear it as if I said it out loud. In return, whatever they say to me is heard in my head without anyone else, no matter how close, being the wiser."

"Woah. That should be standard issue."

"Maybe it will someday, but for now it is a special seal unique and reserved for my sensei's clan, of which I'm an adopted member. And don't bother to copy it or anything. It wont be visible to you until it is removed by the one who place it there."

"Then how come HQ can use it? Who's over there?"

"The overall commander is my sensei. But the mission was issued by Jiji himself so he's the supreme commander. But he only gets involved if things require his direct attention. Then he comes to HQ and issues orders based on what information I got and, if necessary, what I see and hear."

"They can see and hear what you see and hear?"

"Yeah, we have a transformer seal at HQ that interprets and translates information I send naturally from my eyes and ears to the brain. The paper with the seal on my head transmits that information as well. Once HQ receives this information, it is then processed instantly and transferred by that transformer seal I mentioned onto a computer screen. However, it isn't active now, only when I give the mental signal to transmit."

His mind reeling at this revelation, Asuma leaned back into his chair. "You got some cool toys, Naruto." Asuma said.

"Don't I know it." Naruto said with the widest grin yet.

Hinata, utterly impressed by all she had just heard, could only sit there in silent awe of just how skilled and equipped her love was. This was completely unexpected, even considering how their group in Konoha had had some insight into what Naruto's special section was about.

"So what are you talking about?" Asuma asked after a brief moment.

"They're saying that Jiji will send some back-up in case things go south. They feel there are too many things left to chance. They also say that my primary mission must still be information gathering and the dismantling of the criminal presence in Wave is an objective of opportunity."

Nodding in understanding, Asuma said. "Then I suggest you gather your information first and then we'll reconvene and finalize our next and hopefully final move."

"I should get started right now then." Naruto said as he got up.

"W-wait, Naruto-k-kun." Hinata pleaded. "Shouldn't you s-stay and r-rest first?" She was hoping to spend some more time with him, and she thought that to be a perfectly valid reason to keep him here a little longer.

"Might be a good idea, Naruto. It was a pretty intense fight before." Asuma said in approval. "Besides, I hear dinner is ready before long anyway. Let's eat first and then you can get on your way."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I could use some chow before heading off." Naruto said agreeably. Hinata smiled prettily, happy that Naruto would stay with them a bit longer.


End file.
